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‘It Is in America’s Interest to See Hamas Crushed’: Experts on Why a Rafah Operation Is Necessary

Israeli soldiers operate at the Shajaiya district of Gaza city amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, Dec. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Yossi Zeliger

Israel must operate in Rafah, Hamas’ last stronghold, if it wishes to achieve its war objective of eliminating the threat posed by the Palestinian terrorist group, according to experts who spoke with The Algemeiner.

The United States has been pressuring Israel not to move forward with full-scale military action in the southern Gaza city, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that “we are determined to do this.”

Max Abrahms, a tenured professor of international relations at Northeastern University and a consultant to US government agencies, told The Algemeiner that it is “imperative for the Israel Defense Forces to go into Rafah.”

There are a few reasons for this, he explained. One is that, because there are substantial numbers of Hamas terrorists and leaders in Rafah, an operation is the only way for Israel to achieve its war goals of destroying the Islamist group. “Obviously, Israel could take them out with air power alone,” he said, “but the civilian toll would be prohibitive. It is both more effective and humanitarian to deploy boots on the ground.”

Another reason is to re-establish deterrence: “Beyond Hamas,” Abrahms explained, “Israel is surrounded by tens of thousands of state-sponsored terrorists when you include those hiding out in Lebanon and the West Bank — not to mention Gaza. Winning the war against Hamas is critical for signaling to other non-state Israeli adversaries and their backers in Doha, Tehran, Ankara, and Sana’a the costs of attacking Jews.”

Since Hamas launched the current war in Gaza with its Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon has been firing rockets at northern Israel daily. Tensions have been escalating between both sides, fueling concerns that the conflict in Hamas-ruled Gaza could escalate into a regional conflict.

Meanwhile, Israel has arrested thousands of wanted terrorists in the West Bank since the start of the war, roughly half of whom are members of Hamas, according to the Israeli military.

And in Yemen, the Houthi rebels since Oct. 7 have been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and targeting Israel in what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In such a security environment, Israel’s war is not against just Hamas but Islamist terrorists more broadly, according to experts, who say defeating the former will help combat the latter.

“The same holds true for the broader global jihad. Hamas is on al Qaeda’s side,” Abrahms said. “Indeed, Operation Al Aqsa Flood [Hamas’ name for the terror group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel] breathed new life into the global jihad. A win for Israel is a win for counter-terrorism around the world.”

He pointed out: “This is why it is in America’s interest to see Hamas crushed.”

Abrahms also linked an operation in Rafah to the release of the remaining hostages seized by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Even though “some commentators have suggested that negotiations [for the hostages] in lieu of military force are more effective for bargaining,” he acknowledged, “this perspective is deracinated from the international relations literature, which emphasizes in the bargaining literature that threats of force are an important part of bargaining processes.”

“The specter of full-scale defeat is the best motivator for Hamas to relinquish the hostages,” he argued.

Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former White House deputy national security adviser, agreed.

“In the end, if Hamas survives as a fighting force and government it wins the war,” he told The Algemeiner. “Israel is rightly unwilling to contemplate such an outcome. But there are four enlarged Hamas divisions in Rafah, and if they are not destroyed that is the real outcome of the whole conflict: a Hamas victory. This is why Israel must eventually go into Rafah.”

The primary objection to an Israeli operation is that it will make an already dire humanitarian situation worse. US President Joe Biden said he has “deep concern” over such a prospect. Over a million Gazans are currently in Rafah — a city that usually is home to just a few hundred thousand people. Getting access to food and medical care in Gaza has become extremely difficult, bordering on impossible in some cases.

Abrams acknowledged that the battle in Rafah “requires allowing Gazans to move away, whether to northern Gaza or other parts of southern Gaza.” He said if this does not happen, then “it will be impossible for Israel to fight effectively.”

It would also likely result in many civilian casualties.

Consequently, Abrams explained, “the discussions between the United States and Israel should focus on exactly this: how to provide other refuges for Gazans now in Rafah. This will likely require provision of tent cities and other new (perhaps prefab) housing, and food, at locations outside Rafah.”

Reports indicate Israel and the US are currently discussing how exactly to approach a Rafah operation.

Amid these discussions, and continued pressure on Israel by the US not to move forward with an operation, former US Ambassador to the United Nations and White House National Security Adviser John Bolton wrote this week: “The critical question is whether Biden agrees that Israel’s legitimate right of self-defense includes its clearly-stated objective of eliminating Hamas’ military and political capabilities.”

He advised that “this is not the time for the United States to show weakness, especially at the UN.”

Bolton explained why by pointing to a larger goal than just defeating Hamas, arguing, “Victory there could be a decisive turning point in the struggle against the ultimate aggressor: Iran.”

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, which for years has provided the terrorist groups with arms, funding, and training. The Iranian regime also supports the Houthis, whose slogan is “death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory to Islam.”

The post ‘It Is in America’s Interest to See Hamas Crushed’: Experts on Why a Rafah Operation Is Necessary first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.

Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.

The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.

Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.

Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.

The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel

People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.

At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.

Mass prayers were later held in the square.

State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.

In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.

“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.

There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.

Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.

Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.

Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.

Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.

A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.

According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.

Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.

Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.

The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival

Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

i24 NewsChants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.

One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.

This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.

The post Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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